All Things 2015 Gophers Spring Practice: Tweets, Links, Analysis, Video & More

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If memory serves these 1-2 second short pass patterns were a significant part of Adam Weber's playbook in Brewster Year 1.

As a "coach" he's probably a strong asset on what works and what doesn't...learned the hard way.
 

ESPN: Spring checkup: Minnesota Golden Gophers

Leading from the back: Settling the debate will have to wait until some games are actually played, but there’s no question Minnesota is returning one of the deepest, most talented secondaries in the Big Ten, led by dynamic cornerbacks Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun. That tandem combined for six interceptions last season, and with a defensive staff that is encouraged by Kill to experiment and dial up the aggression in spring ball, they are helping make life miserable for the offense. Versatile safety Damarius Travis also provides experience and versatility in the back, and along with perhaps senior Antonio Johnson and speedy Jalen Myrick at nickel, throwing on the Gophers isn’t going to be easy.

Hitting the spots: Throwing against the Minnesota secondary during practice can skew the numbers a bit, and statistically, Mitch Leidner probably wasn’t even close to the completion percentage of 65 or 70 that he wants to deliver in the fall. But across the board, Minnesota walked off the field Tuesday evening confident in the work the redshirt junior quarterback turned in, inconsistent as it may have seemed on the surface thanks to the defense he was facing. One sequence in particular put on full display what Leidner is capable of thanks to his strong arm and more accuracy than perhaps he gets credit for. He delivered a bullet on a slant over the middle, throwing into a small window on a corner route for a completion and then tossing a strike on a deep out to the sideline that only his target could have caught.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/117512/spring-checkup-minnesota-golden-gophers

Go Gophers!!
 

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Go Gophers!!
 

Thanks to everyone for posting their observations of the practices, and posting links to articles. For those of us not in the area it's great to be able to come here and get information about our favorite team. It's greatly appreciated!!
 




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Michigan's spring game is today. Will be interesting to see their QB situation and Harbaugh's debut.
 

Just got back from practice. A few observations....

1. RW35 is clearly the #1 RB on this team at this point. Got nearly every carry with the 1s. He looks good too.
2. Our starting OL looks good, but the backups were beat repeatedly.
3. JJ played only 1-series at RB that I saw. He practiced and played with the WRs 95% of the time.
4. Gentry and Grant were out. I'm not sure who our outside threat will be without them as there wasn't one today. They didn't play MHjr in that roll and Woli didn't get any separation when he did. Most downfield passes were to a walk on I didn't know.
5. Eric Carter catches everything near him. Not sure what he can do YAC wise, but he has very good hands.
6. Best catch I saw was by JJ in the flat - a diving catch on a poor pass. Great catch. He has very good hands, turns upfield quickly, is shifty, and runs hard.
7. Non of the QBs looked that good today.
8. Don't know why they didn't make the home side on the sunny side of the field?
9. Starting LBs seem to be Lynn-Williams-Campbell. I was convinced they would move Lynn back inside but they really seem to like Williams there. He looked good too. Poock didn't look nearly as good.
10. Elmore didn't look so great today, IMO. He was getting knocked down a lot against the 2s. He was getting frustrated and got into it with someone on the OL at one point.
11. Ace Rogers is legit. The rich get richer in the secondary here.
12. We had a FG blocked and almost had a second one blocked. Gotta fix that.
13. Big 10 makes an awesome sub.

It was a fun day. I look forward to hearing thoughts from others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



Spoofin said:
Just got back from practice. A few observations....
http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1044938
1. RW35 is clearly the #1 RB on this team at this point. Got nearly every carry with the 1s. He looks good too.
2. Our starting OL looks good, but the backups were beat repeatedly.
3. JJ played only 1-series at RB that I saw. He practiced and played with the WRs 95% of the time.
4. Gentry and Grant were out. I'm not sure who our outside threat will be without them as there wasn't one today. They didn't play MHjr in that roll and Woli didn't get any separation when he did. Most downfield passes were to a walk on I didn't know.
5. Eric Carter catches everything near him. Not sure what he can do YAC wise, but he has very good hands.
6. Best catch I saw was by JJ in the flat - a diving catch on a poor pass. Great catch. He has very good hands, turns upfield quickly, is shifty, and runs hard.
7. Non of the QBs looked that good today.
8. Don't know why they didn't make the home side on the sunny side of the field?
9. Starting LBs seem to be Lynn-Williams-Campbell. I was convinced they would move Lynn back inside but they really seem to like Williams there. He looked good too. Poock didn't look nearly as good.
10. Elmore didn't look so great today, IMO. He was getting knocked down a lot against the 2s. He was getting frustrated and got into it with someone on the OL at one point.
11. Ace Rogers is legit. The rich get richer in the secondary here.
12. We had a FG blocked and almost had a second one blocked. Gotta fix that.
13. Big 10 makes an awesome sub.

It was a fun day. I look forward to hearing thoughts from others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Spoof, thanks so much for this. I agree about the sun. Not sure what to make of our team at this point but remain optimistic.
 


Burns said Elmore had a pretty good day. Bowled over an OG either Moore or Bjorklund and had a few sacks. Said he said something along the lines of "I'm not a freshman anymore!"
 

Other notes:
- Streveler broke free on a QB keeper and ran 50+ yards for a TD.
- Pretty sure Santoso went 2 for 3 on FGs; he's also a hell of punter...might be very useful when the Gophers are pinned back deep...Use Mortell to punt otherwise, especially when the Gophers stall inside the 50 but outside FG range. In warm-ups the ball came off his foot as a perfect spiral every kick.
- All offensive groups were subject to stalls...seemed like a lot of 3rd and 13 situations.
- Edwards was getting live-action instruction in fielding punts; handled kick-offs much better.
- #24 RB looks really good.

Finally, kids were pretty scrappy with each other today...Don't recall seeing that in a while.
 



Spoofin said:
Just got back from practice. A few observations....

8. Don't know why they didn't make the home side on the sunny side of the field?

It was a fun day. I look forward to hearing thoughts from others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thanks for the report but those of us who have season tickets on the sunny side are trying to keep it a secret. It usually feels at least 10 degrees warmer on that side when it is below 70. Unfortunately, on sunny days when it is 70 degrees or more it can also get a little too toasty.
 

#1 on defense had a gruesome hand injury. There was a lot of yelling, and (according to my wife - I couldn't see it) a lot of blood. What I did see was a finger dangling at an odd angle.

#23 on offense, a kid from Florida whose name I have already forgotten, made a couple of nice catches near the end of practice.

Chris Wipson had an interception where he just reached up over his head and snatched the ball out of the air. He almost returned it for a touchdown.

Chris Streveler had a long run which I suppose didn't technically end in a touchdown because he was touched before the end zone, but he stiff-armed a tackler at the 10 yard line and made it across the line on his feet.
 

everybody knows my name said:
#1 on defense had a gruesome hand injury. There was a lot of yelling, and (according to my wife - I couldn't see it) a lot of blood. What I did see was a finger dangling at an odd angle.

#23 on offense, a kid from Florida whose name I have already forgotten, made a couple of nice catches near the end of practice.

Chris Wipson had an interception where he just reached up over his head and snatched the ball out of the air. He almost returned it for a touchdown.

Chris Streveler had a long run which I suppose didn't technically end in a touchdown because he was touched before the end zone, but he stiff-armed a tackler at the 10 yard line and made it across the line on his feet.
Click to expand...

#1 on defense LB De'Niro Laster and #23 on offense E.J. Sardinha.
 

BilldGopher said:
Other notes: - Streveler broke free on a QB keeper and ran 50+ yards for a TD. - Pretty sure Santoso went 2 for 3 on FGs; he's also a hell of punter...might be very useful when the Gophers are pinned back deep...Use Mortell to punt otherwise, especially when the Gophers stall inside the 50 but outside FG range. In warm-ups the ball came off his foot as a perfect spiral every kick. - All offensive groups were subject to stalls...seemed like a lot of 3rd and 13 situations. - Edwards was getting live-action instruction in fielding punts; handled kick-offs much better. - #24 RB looks really good. Finally, kids were pretty scrappy with each other today...Don't recall seeing that in a while.
Click to expand...

I agree with all this Bild. I pretty much noticed the same. Santoso sure had a BIG leg on his punts today. I was really impressed. Was also equally impressed with Rodney Smith and Rodrick Williams.
 

die hard gopher said:
Burns said Elmore had a pretty good day. Bowled over an OG either Moore or Bjorklund and had a few sacks. Said he said something along the lines of "I'm not a freshman anymore!"
Click to expand...

I'd trust Burns more than me. I watch certain positions on certain plays. I saw Elmore get knocked down 2 or 3 times, but I have no doubt he could have played great on other plays where my eyes were elsewhere. I can only report what I observe - Reader Beware! [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

everybody knows my name said:
#1 on defense had a gruesome hand injury. There was a lot of yelling, and (according to my wife - I couldn't see it) a lot of blood. What I did see was a finger dangling at an odd angle.
Click to expand...

Yea, the Laster injury did not look good. I didn't report it as I wasn't sure of the actual severity as I was on the opposite sideline. Seems you and your wife had a better view than I did.


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Killjoy said:
Thanks for the report but those of us who have season tickets on the sunny side are trying to keep it a secret. It usually feels at least 10 degrees warmer on that side when it is below 70. Unfortunately, on sunny days when it is 70 degrees or more it can also get a little too toasty.
Click to expand...

LOL. My season tickets have always been on the sunny side as well. We picked that side year 1 because of that. What I don't get is how the U couldn't have figured that out. Also, 10-degrees is conservative late in the year for the delta.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Spoofin said:
Just got back from practice. A few observations....

1. RW35 is clearly the #1 RB on this team at this point. Got nearly every carry with the 1s. He looks good too.
2. Our starting OL looks good, but the backups were beat repeatedly.
3. JJ played only 1-series at RB that I saw. He practiced and played with the WRs 95% of the time.
4. Gentry and Grant were out. I'm not sure who our outside threat will be without them as there wasn't one today. They didn't play MHjr in that roll and Woli didn't get any separation when he did. Most downfield passes were to a walk on I didn't know.
5. Eric Carter catches everything near him. Not sure what he can do YAC wise, but he has very good hands.
6. Best catch I saw was by JJ in the flat - a diving catch on a poor pass. Great catch. He has very good hands, turns upfield quickly, is shifty, and runs hard.
7. Non of the QBs looked that good today.
8. Don't know why they didn't make the home side on the sunny side of the field?
9. Starting LBs seem to be Lynn-Williams-Campbell. I was convinced they would move Lynn back inside but they really seem to like Williams there. He looked good too. Poock didn't look nearly as good.
10. Elmore didn't look so great today, IMO. He was getting knocked down a lot against the 2s. He was getting frustrated and got into it with someone on the OL at one point.
11. Ace Rogers is legit. The rich get richer in the secondary here.
12. We had a FG blocked and almost had a second one blocked. Gotta fix that.
13. Big 10 makes an awesome sub.

It was a fun day. I look forward to hearing thoughts from others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thanks but you didn't tell us what you were going to tell Coach Kill what you think.
 

Thanks guys for the reports.

So far, we haven't seen much action from the big three WR recruits from last year - Gentry/Gant/Holland.

Will they be key contributors this season? I guess we'd have to see how they do by Fall Scrimmage.

Kids don't develop on the same trajectory.
 

Spoofin said:
7. None of the QBs looked that good today.
Click to expand...

Has anyone been to a practice when they've actually looked good? I don't believe there's been one yet this spring where their play has been positive. Just shocking to me.
 

hungan1 said:
Thanks guys for the reports.

So far, we haven't seen much action from the big three WR recruits from last year - Gentry/Gant/Holland.

Will they be key contributors this season? I guess we'd have to see how they do by Fall Scrimmage.

Kids don't develop on the same trajectory.
Click to expand...


It's really hard for young wide receivers to contribute when they have a stable of D2 QBs throwing to them. Usually young guys will contribute when they have a talented QB putting the ball in spots for them to make plays on the ball. Right now we are relying on our receivers to bail out our QBs (ala Maxx Williams), so we will not see early contributions.
 

sonnygarcia said:
It's really hard for young wide receivers to contribute when they have a stable of D2 QBs throwing to them. Usually young guys will contribute when they have a talented QB putting the ball in spots for them to make plays on the ball. Right now we are relying on our receivers to bail out our QBs (ala Maxx Williams), so we will not see early contributions.
Click to expand...

I've noticed in a lot of your posts you go into a lot of in-depth analysis of the various positions, both offense and defense, but you never really get into the QB position. I'd be really interested to hear how you think things will shake out at QB this year.
 

STrib: Gophers get after it during spring football scrimmage

• Leidner completed only one of his first seven passes, but then the Gophers gave him a series of simpler throws, and he found a rhythm. He finished 8-for-15 for 39 yards — nothing spectacular, but he escaped his early rut. He also added eight rushes for 39 yards.

• Chris Streveler had his first pass intercepted by linebacker Chris Wipson. If that was the day’s offensive lowlight, Streveler also delivered the highlight when he pulled the ball on the read option and raced for a 63-yard run. Streveler finished 2-for-3 passing for 39 yards.

• If the season started today, Williams probably would be the starting tailback. He rushed six times for 45 yards. Rodney Smith had nine rushes for 34 yards, and Berkley Edwards had more of a tough go, with eight carries for 14 yards.

• Jeff Jones continues to get a long look at slot receiver. He looked like Maxx Williams when he dived to catch an 8-yard throw from Jacques Perra. Jones also saw time at tailback, rushing five times for 10 yards, including a tough 1-yard touchdown.

• Isaiah Gentry (hamstring) and Desmond Gant (concussion) couldn’t play, but fellow redshirt freshman receiver Melvin Holland Jr. caught three passes for 31 yards.

• With Brandon Lingen (broken collarbone) out, the Gophers had only one reception from a tight end. It came when Streveler found the 6-10 Nate Wozniak, who soared high for a 19-yard gain.

• Defensive ends Hank Ekpe and Gaelin Elmore each had sacks. Defensive tackle Gary Moore got behind the line and stuffed Edwards for a loss, and freshman linebacker Julian Huff continued to make a big impression with two tackles for a loss.

• The offense managed only one touchdown in 14 drives, but the no-huddle attack looks smoother each week. Kill almost surely will be pleased next Saturday if the spring game goes like this, especially if the team comes away healthy.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/298689071.html

Go Gophers!!
 

sonnygarcia said:
Has anyone been to a practice when they've actually looked good? I don't believe there's been one yet this spring where their play has been positive. Just shocking to me.
Click to expand...

Can't be stressed enough how well the defense has played during these practices. We are going to be a great defense this year. Not to mention the defense always has the early advantage when returning to practice, at any level.

Offense has also had WAY more install than the defense, probably more than in the past. I've been to all but 2 practices and the offense is incorporating more routes that we've wanted to see in the past. Someone touched on it a few pages ago, but the offense has been experimenting with more route combinations and attacking different levels of the defense. There have been more slants, drags, double moves, stacked bubble screens, and smoke throws than we've seen in the past. They've really been focusing on getting guys in space. Working in these new concepts on top of toying with the no-huddle against our defense, it's taking the offense a bit longer to get into rhythm.
 

Old Goph said:
I've noticed in a lot of your posts you go into a lot of in-depth analysis of the various positions, both offense and defense, but you never really get into the QB position. I'd be really interested to hear how you think things will shake out at QB this year.
Click to expand...

Very well done. This made me laugh, and quite heartily!
 

Just a few things that haven't been mentioned...

I was faked out on the first couple of Mitch's runs and so was the defense. I started watching a little closer and I think Mitch is holding the mesh point a bit longer - until the defense bites. On those first few runs he was all by himself for the first 10 yards while the defense was going the other way.

Holland got a lot of work - I saw him taking snaps with first, second and third string. He dropped one but in general I think he has good hands.

Jones took 5 tries to get his touchdown. He didn't get over his first three times, there was a penalty so the O got first and goal and then Jones got over the line in two more tries. Jones is shifty enough but just is not as big and strong as Nugget. I doubt if they use Jones down near the goal line any more.

All three backs are very good. At this point, Rodrick would start, Smith would get 30% to 40% of the carries at running back and Jones would be coming in for Maye and Smith and perhaps used some as a WR. Kill has said he doesn't want Jones standing next to him on the sidelines. Another way to say that is Jones is not good enough to be our starting RB so lets see where else we can use him. I think Jones is very good but Nugget is clearly our best running back. For those of you who are remembering the Nugget from last year, put that out of your mind - this years version is faster, quicker and pretty good at weaving through traffic.

They were running Edwards a lot on between the tackle plays. I think they are trying to recreate the Chad Spann era. For those of you who didn't see the No. Ill. vrs MN game of 2010, or those of you who have repressed that nightmare, Chad Spann was Northern's RB who gained about 1,000 yards that game. Once he got around end or got through the line, it was off to the races. Edwards could be the same thing but he is not there yet - partly because. as MN4LYFE points out, the defense is really very, very good and because Edwards just isn't finding the holes as well as the other three backs.

I think this defense will be the best in the B10 this year. If a QB takes a half second too long in making their read or in getting rid of the ball they are in danger of a sack or a pick.
 

For anyone who was there: did Mitch look any faster/quicker running the ball in practice compared to last year? Any changes in his running style?

Thanks again for all the reports GH'ers.
 

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